Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that “it is evil to talk about America in decline” in a sharp rebuke of Democratic critics Thursday.
“It is evil to talk about America in decline,” Pompeo said during a discussion at the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit in Washington, D.C. “No senior leader should ever talk about anything other than the fact that while we are imperfect, this is an amazing country.”
Pompeo was rejecting the idea that “America was never great,” arguing that such comments are not only “fundamentally false” but threaten to diminish U.S. influence around the world. He attributed the sentiment to a “former senior official,” but he was making an apparent reference to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s denunciation of President Trump’s campaign slogan.
“Simply stare at the good that America has done around the world,” Pompeo said. “When I see that you can’t see that, in a way that you would say, ‘No, America is in decline, we’ve lost influence, we’ve lost power, America is not a force for good,’ I always think there is intent behind it.”
Cuomo drew widespread criticism last year when he offered an extended criticism of Trump during an event to tout new legislation to combat sex trafficking.
“We are not going to make America great again. It was never that great,” Cuomo said. “We have not reached greatness. We will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged.”
Pompeo touted the “undeniable” benefits that Europe has derived from American power. He reiterated his belief that the United States has “been a force for good” in the Middle East, and observed that the U.S. is “trying to make the lives of the people in Asia better.” The discussion took place one day after Pompeo hosted Uighur Muslims at the State Department to call attention to China’s mass repression of the ethnic and religious minority.
“It’s so fundamentally undermines the nature of the greatest nation in the history of civilization,” Pompeo also said.
Numerous Democratic officials have argued the Trump team has diminished the U.S.’ stature in the world by downplaying the significance of human rights issues, especially when American partners commit atrocities.
Pompeo has drawn personal criticism for his cooperation with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman due to the October execution and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. He met earlier Thursday with Prince Khalid bin Salman, who reportedly encouraged Khashoggi to travel to the diplomatic facility where he was killed and then played a prominent role in the monarchy’s effort to cover up the crime.
But he warned that comments such as Cuomo’s could have dangerous ramifications. “It has the capacity — if it becomes the narrative, which I think some of them intend — it has the capacity to actually be self-fulfilling, and that can’t be the case,” he said. “The world can’t survive an America that’s not great and successful and on the world stage.”
